My heart was rapidly beating in my ears as my feet pounded across the uneven terrain in efforts to escape the beast that was my mate. "Avery!" he roared from the cabin before the sound of his booming footsteps filled my ears thanks to my heightened senses. I ran faster, but I knew that I couldn't outrun him, at least not for long.

My eyes desperately searched for a tree high enough for me to hide in. A loud howl tore through the air telling me that my time was up. Without thinking I jumped, my fingers barely wrapping around the lowest branch before I desperately pulled myself up before repeating the process until I was high enough that the branches were thick enough to hold my weight without groaning in protest and the thick canopy of leaves could hide me. But my scent still hung heavy in the air and I knew it wouldn't be long before a predator like Greyson would find me.

It was mere moments before Greyson was standing below me, his shoulders harshly rising and falling. I pressed my back against the tree and slapped a hand over my mouth to silence my breathing. Tears filled my eyes and fear filled my chest like helium in a balloon.

"Avery!" He roared, his booming voice ringing in my ears as tears rendered my vision useless by blurring my vision. "Avery you can't hide from me! I can smell you!" Anger clung to every word he spoke which frightened me even further. Suddenly he took a deep breath and sharply looked up. I pressed my body as hard against the tree and prayed he couldn't see me through the darkness and leaves. "Avery get down here right now or I swear I'm going to rip this tree out of the ground and shake you out!" Just to prove his point he began mercilessly beating the tree causing it to violently shake and a shriek to escape my lips as I gripped the trunk of the tree for dear life.

"Okay! Okay! You win!" I yelled over the sound of breaking wood. The assault on the tree stopped.

"Get down here now," he coldly demanded, looking up at the canopy I was hidden in. I didn't have to be right in front of him to tell that he was pissed.

I climbed down the branches, tears still streaming down my face and my limbs shaking in fear. What would he do to me? Surely he would kill me, he'd killed for much less. Before I knew it, quiet yet ugly sobs were pushing past my lips despite my best efforts. When I was about seven feet from the ground, I felt a rough hand wrap around my ankle before I was roughly pulled to the ground, a scream escaping my lips as my back and head came into mercilessly rough impact with the rough uneven ground along with Greyson roughly handling my still healing Achilles.

"Don't you ever try anything like that again, do you understand?" He barked as he straddled my waist and pinned my hands above my head. It was a dominant move showing power opposed to a sexual one.

"Y-Yes, Greyson. I'm sorry," I rushed out, bowing my head not only to show my respect but also to hide from the fury that burned behind his eyes. Suddenly he roughly grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. His intense eyes bore into mine.

"No tears," he sternly said as his hand moved from my chin to my cheeks and swept away my tears. "They don't belong on your face." My eyebrows knit together in confusion, but before I could open my mouth to question him, I was flung over his shoulder. "I'm taking you home. Dinner is getting cold."

We silently walked through the forest. Well actually, he walked silently through the forest carrying me on his back like the barbarian he was. He might've caught me and he might scare the crap out of me, but I sure as hell was going to escape or die trying. I just needed to get a good feel for the pack grounds before I could make my plan.

After a while, we were back in the cabin and he set me down on my chair, pain radiating through my back as my back gently touched the back of the chair. He probably bruised my spine. I was surprised it wasn't broken. A flash of something moved through Greyson's eyes, but before I could decipher it, it was gone and his bareback was facing me. "You brought it on yourself," was all he said, causing me to momentarily glare at the back of his head.

After a few moments, he returned with a big steaming bowl of stew in one hand and a small salad in the other and set them on the table in front of me. "Eat," he instructed as he walked away to get his own. "You need some meat on your bones."

And you need to stop being a prick, I thought to myself, but I merely nodded and waited for him to grab his own food and sit at the table. He started eating as soon as he sat down while I hadn't even lifted my spoon. "I said eat," he said once he realized I hadn't started eating, causing me to jump before I picked up my spoon and ate the stew. I guess I was so used to Alpha Phoenix taking the first bite that I forgot that I was free from him, yet in the grasp of another beast.

The stew had what I immediately recognized as freshly caught deer in it and tasted absolutely amazing. But I wouldn't let Greyson know of course. I didn't even look at him. The rest of dinner went on in silence with Greyson's eyes burning holes into me probably to make sure that I wouldn't try to run again.

As soon as I was done he wordlessly took both of our plates to the sink to be washed later before he offered me his hand. I looked up at him and looked in his cold emotionless eyes to see if I could find any sign of hostility behind his actions. When I came up dry, I hesitantly put my hand in his and stood up and allowed him to lead me upstairs. "You're going to take a shower," he said as he led me up to the bathroom whose water was still running from my escape attempt. "But I will be in there with you to ensure you don't make any more mistakes." Despite how badly I wanted to protest and demand he gave me privacy, I knew it'd only end up worse for me so I wordlessly nodded and stepped into the bathroom.

Since the water was cold I readjusted it until it was to my liking. "Is the water alright?" I softly asked as I turned to Greyson to see him already stripping down.

"It's fine," he said without looking at me or testing the water. Rather than argue, I nodded and carefully started stripping myself until I was bare. As suspected I could see the reflection of the huge ugly bruise that decorated my back in the mirror. I barely touched it with my finger and a wince escaped my lips. I saw Greyson clench his jaw as he too looked at the reflection before he swiftly got in the shower before beckoning me in with him.

I slowly approached the small shower and carefully got in, careful that my body didn't touch his. Once I was fully in, there was barely an inch between Greyson and I. I couldn't help the blush that stained my cheeks. "C-Can you pass the towel and soap?" I quietly asked without turning to look at him.

"No," he gruffly said though I could hear and see him moving out of my peripherals.

"Greyson I-" I started but was interrupted by the tender kiss of the towel as I touched between my shoulder blades. I sharply sucked in a breath both out of pain and surprise at the sudden action. Greyson continued to gently wash my back and shoulders before he washed my neck and behind my ears.

"Turn around," he softly said, though authority was ripe in his voice. I didn't hesitate to follow his instruction in fear of what he would do to me especially in the vulnerable position I was in. He quickly rinsed the towel before he began washing my chest right above my breasts then moved to my collar bones and the front of my neck. I watched him as he worked. He was focused- his eyebrows furrowed and his moss green eyes were focused on his work and not wandering elsewhere which was a relief. The water collected in his dark brown hair and turned it almost black in color.

"Close your eyes," he instructed and I did. After a few moments, I felt the towel delicately move across my face, Greyson being careful he didn't hurt me though it easily contradicted the actions from less than a half hour ago. "I think you can finish," he stated before he pressed the towel and soap in my hands before he gently grabbed my shoulders and turned me around so my back was facing him once more.

After a few moments of movement behind me, I felt a light weight being added to my head and before I could react or figure out what it was, Greyson's fingers buried themselves in my scalp, gently massaging what I realized to be shampoo into my head. I couldn't silence the relaxed moan that pushed past my lips and I instantly tensed up as Greyson's fingers momentarily stopped moving in my head. "Don't do that," he said after a few tense seconds then continued his task.

I blushed and whispered, "Sorry." Greyson continued washing then conditioning my hair until he was satisfied then sent me to dry off while he cleaned himself which I did. As I dried myself I couldn't help the confusion that bubbled within my chest and the conflict that raged in my head. One minute he's nice and protective and threatening to rip off everyone's head for me, but then the next he's throwing me around. One minute he's making me dinner but then the next he's threatening to pull me out of trees and bruising my bones. Now he's being gentle and is tending to me, but what would the next minute hold? I was terrified to find out.

After I was done drying my hair and body, I wrapped the towel around my body and sat on the toilet lid and waited for Greyson to finish. After About five minutes Greyson was out. I averted my gaze until he was dry with a towel securely around his waist. "Come," he instructed as he exited the bathroom and entered his bedroom. I quickly got up and followed him into his walk-in closet where he handed me an oversized dark blue sweatshirt while he went for a pair of boxers and sweatpants. "I might take you shopping tomorrow," he said as I put on the sweatshirt, grateful that it went down past my knees, "but for now you're going to sleep." He gently placed his hand on the low of my back and led me back out into the bedroom and to the bed.

I settled into the soft duvet while he turned off the lights. As soon as he was in the bed, his arms encircled my waist and pulled me into his chest. "Agh!" I yelled as pain exploded from my slowly healing back, but quickly bit lip in order to prevent the whimpers that were dying to escape from coming out.

"You brought it on yourself," he repeated though this time there was something that sounded like remorse hidden deep in his voice. "Now sleep. We have a long day tomorrow," he instructed before he buried his face in the crook of my neck and shoulder.

I refused to close my eyes not trusting him for a second, but somewhere between me watching the numbers on the digital clock beside his bedside table and my raging thoughts, I slid into a deep sleep consisting of nightmarish memories of what my pack members and Greyson's Beta had done to me and what was to come.

***